By Khaled Amin
Last Sunday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the construction process of east-Portsaid’s new
harbor and many other projects, with way-bigger scales than of the enormous new Suez Canal. Egypt
has been put under consistent economic pressure ever since the 2011th uprisings; in fact, most of the
region’s economies have been strained, and domestic developments appear to be ideal ways out of such
calamities. For that reason the Egyptian government, in collabouration with its Armed Forces, had
initiated a road-map to Egypt’s development framework. A plan that includes massive national projects,
like the Suez Canal, east-Portsaid, Nuclear plant, Sinai, New Capital, Road Networks and many others, all
awaited to revive the shaky Egyptian market and assure a bright Egyptian economic future.
Wide-scale national projects seem to be high on the list, while the Egyptian presidency realizes how
fruitful the outcomes of likewise ventures are, as it enhance an effective path towards fulfilling stability
and development. Expected developments will provide youth with more than a 100 thousand job
opportunities, in fields of constructions, supplementary industries, agriculture, transportation, trade,
among others.
PM Sherif Ismail pointed his speech to the gains upcoming projects will opportunely provide, as he
talked-up the government’s commitment to achieve progress that would frankly benefit Egyptians. In his
brief on the scheduled tasks, Ismail mentioned the new International Road network which is to connect
between Egypt’s regions -Libya’s neighbored western deserts, the north-coastline, Sinai, to the eastern
borders- with the heart of Cairo and southern areas. This network will pass by the historical Alamein
city, where the government wills to put up a parallel modernized metropolitan. A city built on 77
thousand feddan -close to acre- along the Mediterranean shores, will be geared up to absorb more than
5mn people and drag financial, touristic and real-estate investments. The International Road network
will also attach cities of Dumyat -as the government privatized an area of 331 feddan dedicated to “the
city of furniture” that includes workshops, heavy and supplementary factories- the city of Al-Areesh –
where port is being restructured- last but not least, the new city of Raffah on more than 500 feddans
with 10 thousand residential units to keep up hope back in Sinai’s inhabitants. Projects also include the
new phases of Ismailiya city and tying of east and west banks of the canal with tunnels, all in efforts to
transfigure the Sinai peninsula. The Sinai would be a vital turn for the economy, its development would
bring to light many buried chances and resources the region sleeps upon, as the government directs
massive agriculture reforms in its broad deserts . “The third segment includes qualifying the Suez and
Ain-el-Sukhna, in addition to the private economic zone north-west the Suez Gulf, Al-Abadeya and Ain-
el-Sukhna’s -where a new dock for liquefied gas is being prepared- ongoing developments.” said PM
Ismail. The network of serviced roads will freshen-up the inner cycle of trade and industrialization, it will
allow developments to spread across the vast fallow lands, as it will also attract private and foreign
investments on the long-run.
Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces (EAAF) Chief, Major General Kamel El-Waziri has presented
to the attendants a review on east-Portsaid’s projected plan. “The docking phase would take some time,
but I’m glad to announce that it is unprecedented in Egypt to pave 5km all at once. To achieve this we
did not wait for the 10 Egyptian national companies to supply us with equipments. We, for the first time
in the EAAF, own 18 deep foundation and diaphragm-wall drilling rigs, if God wills, the project would be
running in two of years.” said Maj. Gen. EL-Waziri.
In his speech, president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced, “the new Suez Canal real cost was 20bln LE,
when it should’ve been 25bln and more. I’m setting this as an example for professionals who direct
businesses, and want to truly build their country in such tough times we witness. The projects
implemented sustained life for families, it is essential for us to build and restructure roads, hospitals,
schools efficiently, and by the quickest and cheapest possible means.” The Egyptian president aims to
accomplish major development, construction, industrial, logistic and other projects during the course of
his first-term in office, not to leave any loose ends. “It is important to notice that one can pressure the
timeline of accomplishing projects, but it is not clever to do the same while building a mind, we must
not hurry in developing our educational systems. Education needs more than 3 or 5 years, we need to
have the will and strive to build minds and cleanse “hearts”. To have intellectual minds that benefits the
nation’s development and not destruct it, we need to purify our hearts and focus on building our
nation.”
